I'm in Wilmington for the next few weeks.

I'm in Wilmington, NC for the next couple of weeks with work. So far so good, but it has made staying on top of my running mileage tough. The weather has been crappy as well limiting me to the treadmill at Golds Gym. Blah... I do not mind the treadmill itself, it's waiting for one to open up that sucks. I have been alternating between biking and running in the mornings, then coming back for weights and Crossfit in the evenings.

Snow!

We got 4-5 inches of snow this morning! We were expecting snow today, but I was still skeptical. Well, when we woke up this morning it was very quiet. Snow quiet. I knew it had snowed out, but I did not expect this much! I had to cancel my trip out of town, I guess I'll be leaving tomorrow.



I sent in the above pic to WRAL.com, and it was posted on their website this morning. It looks like I'll be doing P90X with Katie tonight and maybe an hour on the bike trainer.



The snow also puts a damper on my running mileage buildup. I am in week three of it, and I still have to knock out four runs of at least four plus miles this week to stay on track. I'll post up the mileage program I am following later on this week.

I'll be out of town until Friday - Enjoy your week!

Newton Running Shoes, Part 1

Newtons! I decided to give the Newton running shoes a shot. After my transformation to a forefoot runner, I have tried several different pairs of shoes in my quest to find the right ones for me. I am a bigger triathlete, I usually run 205-210lbs during the season. The lightweight flats that I was running in, did not give me any protection from rocks etc. I wanted something with a little more protection, not necessarily more padding. Lots of padding in the heal does not serve forefoot runners well, and simply weighs down the shoe. I bought the Cushion Racers for $154 from a local tri shop. I think that they look great, but some people may find them a little on the "bright" side. The shoes came with the mesh shoe bag shown in the picture.



Out of the box they feel light, not bulky like a normal running shoe. The quality appears to be top notch, and I particularly like the full body mesh they chose. It will allow your feet to breath nicely on those long, hot runs.







Note the red actuator lugs. These are the real science behind the shoes. They claim to have up to 58% energy return when compressed.



These are the insoles that came with the shoes. They are made by Custom Insoles, which oddly enough was no longer a valid website when I went to the url on the insole. I am not sure if they are out of business or no longer affiliated with Newton. Regardless, they are lightweight and comfortable. The waffling on the bottom is supposed to develop an "active imprint" of your foot over time, for a custom fit.





After a short warm up, I went on a 2.5 run around the block. Newton recommends only running 2-3 miles at a time over a week period to allow your body to break in to the shoes. Yes, it's not the other way around. During the run the shoes felt great. They definitely push your feet in to a more mechanically correct running position. I could feel the actuator lugs absorbing the foot impact nicely, and they give you the sensation that they are pushing your feet back off the ground. The best analogy I can give would be that of a bouncing ball.

The run went well, and to my surprise my calves are a little sore. I was trying to stay true my Pose technique and not push off with my calves. I suspect it is simply a more aggressive foot position than I am used to, and it undoubtedly will put more pressure on your calves when they absorb the impact.

Overall I was pleased with the Newton's and the run in general. I will be following up this review with Part 2 once I get some more time in them!

You can find out more information about the Newton running shoes at www.newtonrunning.com.

Triathlonquest Product Rating:

Happy New Year!

I wanted to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! We had some friends over last night, and I grilled blackened tuna steaks. We kicked off the New Year with a "healthy" dose of Mojitos! I also worked on the banner for the blog, which is the same banner that will be available on the Triathlonquest t-shirts in the future.

It's January 1st, 2009 - With that my training for the 2009 tri season starts. This year I am going to be using a training guide from Ironguides.net. I did portions of the same training plan at the tail end of last season, and I liked it. I will be posting some key workouts occasionally, and my thoughts on the Ironguide plan overall.

Happy New Year!

Domain transfers...

I am currently in the process of getting my original triathlonquest.com domain transfered over to GoDaddy so I can use it here on Blogger. The transfer should be complete in the next couple of days.

In other news: My wife and I started doing the P90X workout this week. We have a gym membership, but it is much easier on her (and me!) to just workout at home. I will be posting a review of the P90X workout system as we move through it.

The first day of the new Triathlonquest!

It's almost New Year's, and with that comes change. I will be hosting Triathlonquest on Blogger from this point forward. The old provider was a pain in the ass to use, and made it difficult to post quickly and easily. I am looking forward to working on Triathlonquest, and developing it in to an entertaining and worthwhile blog!